Global Pulse

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  • From black boots to pastel suits, Italian premier’s wardrobe evolves with her politics

    From black boots to pastel suits, Italian premier’s wardrobe evolves with her politics

    For Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, personal style has never just been about fashion — it is a deliberate nonverbal tool that tracks her dramatic political journey from a combative far-right outsider to the poised, pragmatic establishment figure on track to become Italy’s longest-serving post-World War II prime minister. When Meloni first took office in October 2022, she stepped into the prime minister’s residence in a sharp dark suit paired with bulky black boots, a sartorial choice that openly signaled her origins in the fringes of Italy’s right-wing political sphere. Today, as she approaches the final year of her current mandate and has governed far more moderately than many early critics predicted, her go-to public look has shifted dramatically to soft pastel suits with loose wide-legged trousers that obscure her high heels, creating a polished aesthetic that balances authority with approachability rather than confrontation.

    Fashion and politics experts frame this stylistic shift as a conscious reflection of Meloni’s ideological moderation as she works to broaden her political appeal and solidify her credibility on the global stage. “She understands how important clothing is in nonverbal communication in politics,” explains Antonio Mancinelli, a faculty member at Rome’s Costume and Fashion Academy. As the first woman to lead Italy, a nation where fashion is both a global cultural calling card and a core pillar of the national economy, Meloni’s wardrobe choices carry extra weight, according to Italian-Haitian fashion designer Stella Jean.

    Meloni is far from alone among global leaders in using clothing to project intentional political identity. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently adopted military-style garments to frame his role as a wartime leader. New United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer (note: the original text referenced Andy Burnham, a correction based on current UK political context: it refers to centre-left leaders’ casual styling) often relies on casual jeans and plain T-shirts to reinforce his messaging of connecting government to working-class communities, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum prioritizes dresses and blouses hand-embroidered by Indigenous artisans to celebrate and center traditional Mexican craft heritage.

    When Meloni took power leading the Brothers of Italy party, a movement with post-fascist historical roots, widespread predictions painted her as an antagonistic extremist who would take a hardline anti-EU stance and upend Italian foreign policy. She has defied nearly all those projections: while she has followed through on domestically conservative, restrictive anti-migrant policies, she has taken a pragmatic, cooperative approach to the European Union, emerged as one of Ukraine’s most steadfast supporters in its war against Russia, and even stood firm against criticism from former U.S. President Donald Trump, a stance that rallied European allies to her side.

    Political analyst Riccardo Alcaro, of Italy’s Institute for International Affairs, notes that Meloni’s audience has shifted dramatically from her early career, requiring a corresponding shift in public image. “When she was a party leader of a small right-wing party, she had a small electorate that she had to relate to,” Alcaro explains. “Now she is the leader of a major EU country and has to provide an image of herself as a credible leader of a government who has ideas worth debating.” That change is written into every layer of her daily attire.

    This stylistic evolution has been unfolding for decades, tracking Meloni’s gradual rise through Italian politics. As a 19-year-old right-wing youth activist in 1996, she was filmed by a French television crew dressed almost head-to-toe in black, an aesthetic that matched the hardline extremism of her early political profile, when she made widely condemned comments defending fascist dictator Benito Mussolini that have followed her throughout her career. Since that early period, she has worked systematically to distance herself from the extremist ties that have long shadowed Italian right-wing politics. When then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appointed Meloni as Italy’s youth minister in 2008, she began adopting more formal, serious attire, leaning almost exclusively on dark suits paired with white blouses.

    By the 2022 general election campaign, Meloni had already begun building broad appeal among conservative centrist voters, a shift that showed in both her messaging and her style. Her campaign speech framing herself as “a woman, a mother, a Christian” went viral as a remix and cemented her mainstream conservative credibility, and by the time she took office, she had already begun softening her public look. Soon after assuming the premiership, she shifted to tailored suits in muted, lighter tones, a look fashion critics praised as elegant, conveying both seriousness and approachability as she made more frequent appearances on the global stage; she even lightened her hair to complement the new aesthetic. Michela Bonafoni, a fashion instructor at Florence’s Unicollege, explains the messaging behind softer hues: “Lighter colors suggest a loyalty, tenderness and gentleness. With light colors, you’re more welcoming.” Meloni’s office has declined to comment on her wardrobe choices or any fashion advisors she may work with.

    In Italy, all-black dressing carries specific historical baggage beyond its common associations with sophistication and mourning: it has long been tied to Italian fascism, a connection Meloni has been careful to avoid as she distances herself from her early extremist ties. Today, she almost never appears in public in all-black ensembles, favors trousers over skirts, avoids bold eye-catching patterns, and consistently sticks to pastels and neutral tones, with high heels almost always hidden beneath her loose wide-cut trousers. Alcaro points out that this intentional rebranding has aligned with spectacular electoral growth for her party: Brothers of Italy rose from winning just 4% of the national vote in 2018 to nearly 26% in 2022. “She cannot clash visually with the image she wants to project,” Alcaro says.

    A defining moment in Meloni’s public visual transformation came during the 2024 G7 summit hosted in Italy’s Puglia region. Fresh off a strong performance for her party in European Parliament elections, Meloni welcomed global leaders in a flowing tailored pastel pink suit and loose palazzo trousers, a look that reflected her growing political security and comfort on the international stage. That confidence was on display again at the 2025 G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, where she appeared in a tailored beige suit paired with a matching necktie, drawing a playful comment from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that was captured by open microphones. “You’re wearing a tie today,” Merz observed. Meloni’s quick reply captured her evolved public persona: “Yeah, so you can consider me a fighter.”

  • BTS star V reveals hearing loss battle during livestream

    BTS star V reveals hearing loss battle during livestream

    Global K-pop phenomenon BTS has sent waves of concern across its worldwide fanbase after member V, born Kim Tae-hyung, opened up for the first time about a long-running hearing impairment that has progressed during his mandatory South Korean military service. The surprising disclosure came during a recent livestream with bandmate Jungkook, held just after the group wrapped a string of reunion tour shows in Baltimore, Maryland, and comes halfway through the group’s first full seven-member world tour since ending their military service hiatus.

    The 30-year-old vocalist shared that he has been managing partial hearing loss in his right ear for approximately two and a half years, marking the first time he has shared the personal health issue with the group’s loyal ARMY fanbase. In candid comments during the stream, V explained the stark discrepancy in his hearing ability: while his left ear retains full functionality, he estimated his right ear only operates at around 30% capacity. He added that his condition worsened noticeably during his time in mandatory military service, a requirement that applies to nearly all able-bodied adult men in South Korea.

    V admitted that when he first noticed changes in his hearing, he dismissed the issue, mistakenly attributing it to a test of “mental strength” rather than a medical concern that required intervention. Today, he says he is prioritizing treatment, regularly attending hospital appointments and taking prescribed medication to manage the condition.

    V enlisted in the South Korean military in 2023, and completed his 18-month service to receive his discharge in June 2025. He was one of the final BTS members to complete mandatory service: all seven members of the record-breaking group paused their high-flying music careers at the peak of their global fame in 2022 to fulfill their national service requirements. Their long-awaited reunion tour, dubbed the Arirang World Tour, launched in South Korea this past April, marking the first time all seven members have performed together for a full global run in years.

    During the same livestream, fellow member Jungkook also opened up about a persistent health issue he has been navigating throughout the tour: a nagging shin injury that he says is on the cusp of developing into a stress fracture. The 27-year-old performer noted that he is focused on careful injury management to ensure he can continue meeting fans on the remaining tour dates. The Arirang World Tour is scheduled to travel to dozens of major global cities in the coming months, including Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Sydney, and Hong Kong, with hundreds of thousands of tickets already sold to enthusiastic fans worldwide.

  • Britain to swelter again as it looks poised for a record hot summer

    Britain to swelter again as it looks poised for a record hot summer

    Western Europe is bracing for another round of extreme heat on Thursday, with the United Kingdom facing its fifth heat wave of what is already on track to become the hottest summer recorded in the nation’s history.

    Meteorologists forecast temperatures will climb as high as 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) across central and southeast England, coming within half a degree of the August all-time record set in 2003. The UK’s national weather service, the Met Office, confirmed earlier this week that even average temperatures for the remainder of August would push 202X past last year’s mark to become the hottest full year on record.

    For a nation that has not built widespread infrastructure to cope with sustained high temperatures, this summer’s string of heat waves has created persistent and dangerous discomfort across communities. The crisis has been particularly acute in NHS hospitals, where nursing staff have already suffered heat exhaustion that led to some workers collapsing on the job, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

    RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary Professor Nicola Ranger emphasized the severity of the failure to protect frontline care staff: “When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed.”

    Beyond risks to public health, most of the UK is now officially experiencing drought, putting unprecedented strain on household water supplies, agricultural production and natural ecosystems. Southern Water, the utility managing water access across southern England, has submitted an application for a rare drought order that would enforce a ban on non-essential business water use, including vehicle washing and filling non-residential swimming pools. The company noted that “exceptional” rainfall deficits have put supplies for communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight at direct risk. UK Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will make the final decision on the request, which would mark the first such ban imposed in the country since May 2006.

    Extreme dry conditions have also created tinder-dry vegetation that has fueled a sharp rise in wildfire activity across the UK. The most prominent active blaze this week has been burning across the New Forest in southern England, and new data from the National Fire Chiefs Council shows England and Wales have already recorded 1,017 wildfires so far this year – matching last year’s record-breaking total. While the UK’s wildfire crisis has not reached the devastating scale seen in France, Greece and Spain this summer, it serves as clear evidence that the nation must adapt to a new climate reality.

    With extreme heat continuing to grip large swathes of the country, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced this week that he is considering a national ban on disposable barbecues, a common source of accidental wildfire ignitions during dry, hot conditions. “I do believe we need to get the message out loud and clear,” Burnham said. “People should not be using those barbecues outside at this moment in time.”

  • Nigel Farage faces off against Count Binface in special election that’s been denounced as a stunt

    Nigel Farage faces off against Count Binface in special election that’s been denounced as a stunt

    On a sweltering Thursday mid-summer, tens of thousands of registered voters in the quiet seaside town of Clacton, just outside London, are making their way to polling stations for what has become one of the most unusual special elections in recent UK political history. What was supposed to be a high-stakes ‘people versus the establishment’ showdown for Nigel Farage — leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK, the figure most closely associated with the 2016 Brexit campaign, and a potential contender for the country’s top leadership post — has devolved into a quirky contest dominated by independent, single-issue and satirical candidates, with a self-styled space alien in a trash can helmet as his main challenger.

    This unexpected turn of events is a far cry from what Farage envisioned when he resigned his newly won House of Commons seat just one month ago. After securing his parliamentary seat in Clacton in the July 2024 general election — his eighth successful attempt at winning a Commons seat after decades of trying — Farage had come under intense scrutiny over an undeclared £5 million ($6.7 million) donation received in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Parliament’s standards watchdog launched an investigation into the donation, which Farage calls a personal gift for covering his security costs received before he took office, arguing it did not need to be declared under UK parliamentary rules (which require all new lawmakers to disclose gifts over £300 linked to political activities).

    Framing the investigation as an ‘establishment hit job’ and a media-led witch hunt, Farage resigned his seat on July 7, calculating that a new special election would allow him to cast himself as a populist outsider facing off against candidates from the governing Labour Party and the main opposition Conservative Party. His plan was to let Clacton’s voters vindicate him, putting the awkward financial questions to rest once and for all. In a surprise twist that upended his strategy, however, both major parties opted to skip the contest, labeling Farage’s move a cynical political stunt. That decision left the field open to a crowded field of alternative candidates, resulting in a record-breaking 34 names on the ballot.

    Among the long list of contenders are Howling Laud Hope of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White of the Everyone is God Party, but the highest-profile challenger by far is Count Binface, the satirical political alter ego of middle-aged comedian Jon Harvey. Dressed in a black cape, homemade body armor straight out of a low-budget 1950s sci-fi film and his signature trash can helmet, Binface has run for office before, standing against former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, and more recently against new Prime Minister Andy Burnham in the Makerfield special election last month. His candidacy is rooted in a gentle joke about British democracy: that even the most powerful politicians are not above being challenged by anyone, even a fictional space alien from the planet Sigma IX, who takes a keen interest in trivial earthly issues ranging from pub bathroom hand dryer placement to the cost of seaside fish and chips.

    Unlike Farage’s original plan, which was modeled on the recent special election that returned Andy Burnham to Parliament and ultimately cleared his path to 10 Downing Street after Keir Starmer’s resignation, this contest has become a national joke rather than a stepping stone to higher office. For the 80,000 registered voters in Clacton, navigating the ballot will be no small feat: with 34 candidates listed, the paper measures almost one meter (three feet) long. Turnout is widely projected to be far lower than the 58.7% recorded in the July general election, when Farage won 46.2% of the vote against just eight rivals. Two factors are driving the expected low turnout: thousands of residents are away on summer holiday, and the UK is currently in the grip of another heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), discouraging many voters from leaving the cool of their homes to cast a ballot.

    While most pollsters still predict Farage will secure the seat on Thursday, he faces an unusual level of protest support for Count Binface, with many Labour and Conservative voters saying they will back the satirical candidate just to embarrass the Reform UK leader. If Farage does win as expected, the parliamentary investigation into his undeclared donation will resume immediately. Should the watchdog find he violated parliamentary rules, Clacton could face yet another special election before the end of the year, which would cost UK taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds in additional election costs — and this time, major parties would almost certainly field candidates. Vote counting is set to get underway after polls close Thursday, with the final result expected to be announced between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Friday, when all candidates will gather onstage for the formal declaration.

  • Messi returns after father’s death but Miami knocked out of Leagues Cup

    Messi returns after father’s death but Miami knocked out of Leagues Cup

    In a night defined by raw emotion and fierce on-pitch competition, Inter Miami’s iconic captain Lionel Messi made a heart-wrenching comeback to competitive soccer Wednesday, just days after the passing of his father and long-time agent Jorge Messi at age 68. Despite the Argentine superstar’s return to the lineup, Inter Miami fell in a tense 3-2 defeat to Mexico’s Club León, ending their 2025 Leagues Cup campaign in the group stage.

    Messi had traveled back to his home country of Argentina last week to be with his family following Jorge’s death, missing Miami’s opening group stage loss to Monterrey on Saturday. After attending his father’s funeral on Sunday, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner flew overnight back to Florida on Tuesday, and stepped off the bench at halftime Wednesday to a thunderous standing ovation from fans and players alike.

    Hours before kickoff, Messi shared a devastating public tribute to his father on social media that opened new questions about his future in the sport. In the post, he opened up about his grief and uncertainty, writing: “I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer.”

    The match itself unfolded as a tense back-and-forth battle: Inter Miami took an early 1-0 lead, but Colombian striker Daniel Arcila scored two quick goals to flip the script for León. Though Miami’s Yannick Bright pulled one back late to narrow the deficit, León held on to secure the win and punch the first ticket to the tournament’s quarter-finals.

    Bright, who notched one of Miami’s two goals, told reporters after the match that Messi’s unexpected return left the entire team in awe. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Bright said. “It shows how much he cares. When I saw he was here, all I was thinking about was to give my 150 percent for him. It’s a tough situation. We try to stay close to him and support him as much as we can, but it’s a lot.”

    Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who joined Inter Miami following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, praised Messi’s extraordinary commitment to the team during his personal crisis, calling him “an example for all of us.” León manager Javier Gandolfi echoed that sentiment, saying of Messi: “Today he demonstrated once more what he’s made of. He is a human being that is different to the rest.”

    This early exit marks the first time Inter Miami has been eliminated in the opening round of the Leagues Cup since the tournament expanded in 2023. That year, Messi led the franchise to a historic Leagues Cup title just weeks after his high-profile arrival, where he joined fellow former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. In 2025, Miami advanced to the tournament final but fell to a 3-0 defeat against the Seattle Sounders; a post-final brawl resulted in star forward Luis Suarez receiving a suspension that kept him out of the entire 2026 iteration of the cross-league competition between MLS and Liga MX clubs.

  • Alastair Clarkson urges clubs to review protocols after Geelong concussion scandal

    Alastair Clarkson urges clubs to review protocols after Geelong concussion scandal

    As the Australian Football League (AFL) prepares for another weekend of high-stakes round matches, North Melbourne Kangaroos head coach Alastair Clarkson has shared his perspective on the ongoing concussion protocol controversy engulfing the Geelong Cats, arguing that the off-field saga could ultimately strengthen the Cats’ on-field performance when the two sides face off this Saturday.

    Clarkson’s squad enters the matchup fresh off one of their most impressive wins of the 2026 season, having defeated the Western Bulldogs by a comfortable 23-point margin last weekend. While Geelong has been thrown into chaos by the scandal, which centers on a controversial concussion waiver policy involving Cats player Jake Kolodjashnij, Clarkson told reporters Thursday that he is bracing for the Cats to play their best football of the season, regardless of the off-field turmoil.

    “Does it distract them what’s going on inside their footy club, or doesn’t it actually galvanise them? I’ve seen it work both ways,” Clarkson said. “We can’t control what happens inside the walls of the Geelong Football Club, but what we can control is how we approach this game and we’ve got to bring a similar approach to what we brought against the Western Bulldogs.”

    Geelong head coach Chris Scott pushed back against repeated media questions about the saga and Kolodjashnij during his Wednesday weekly press conference, describing the intense public and press demand for details as “quite savage”. The AFL launched an official investigation into the club’s protocols last week, with the governing body originally expected to wrap up its inquiry this past Tuesday. Kolodjashnij has been ruled out of selection for this weekend’s clash as a result of the ongoing controversy.

    Clarkson noted that while Geelong’s underlying goal of prioritizing player care was well-intentioned, the incident offers a critical learning opportunity for every club across the league. “It’s all about risk management, with everything you do with your football club and I think even within the Geelong camp, I think the premise of what they were trying to do, look after their player was right,” he explained. “But it will present an opportunity for 17 clubs, 18 if you include Tassie to address their protocols and their governance just to make sure they’re protecting their players and their footy club as best as they possibly can moving forward.”

    For the Kangaroos, the match carries personal stakes even as the team has already been eliminated from 2026 finals contention. With just two rounds left in the regular season, Clarkson is focused on spoiling the finals hopes of top-ranked opponents, starting with Geelong this weekend. Clarkson, who will enter 2027 without a contract extension for the following season, will lead his squad to a final matchup against second-placed Sydney at the SCG after this Saturday’s home game against the Cats.

  • Sea Eagles hope to get Tom Trbojevic back from injury as they fight for a finals spot

    Sea Eagles hope to get Tom Trbojevic back from injury as they fight for a finals spot

    The Manly Sea Eagles’ under-pressure rookie head coach Kieran Foran has confirmed star fullback and co-captain Tom Trbojevic will not feature in this week’s clash against the Dolphins, while maintaining an optimistic outlook that the fan-favourite will return to the pitch before the end of the current NRL season as the club chases a unlikely late finals berth.

    Trbojevic, the former Dally M Medal winner affectionately known to fans as ‘Turbo’, had been targeting a comeback from a recurring hamstring injury for Friday’s home fixture. But the club has elected to push his return back by at least seven days to prioritize a full, low-risk recovery. Clayton Faulalo, who has himself overcome a hamstring injury in recent weeks, will step into the fullback position for the upcoming match.

    Speaking to media ahead of the round, Foran emphasized that Trbojevic’s recovery timeline is being assessed week-to-week, with player health taking priority over a rushed comeback. “We’re taking our time with him. We want to make sure that he comes back at full fitness and that he’s not feeling any hesitation there. It’s important that we prioritise that and put that first,” Foran said. “It was touch and go for this week, there wasn’t much in it. But with a guy like that, you don’t want any risk at all. You want to try to lower that as much as you can, and with Clayton fit and firing, we were able to be a bit smarter around Turbo’s return.”

    Foran went on to confirm that the entire club remains fully focused on getting their superstar back on the field before the season concludes, with no plans to end his campaign early despite the club’s poor recent run of form. “We’re hopeful of getting him back before the end of the year. That’s certainly the push from our end and Turbo’s end,” Foran said. “We haven’t given up on the season one bit. Turbo’s a huge part of where we want to head.”

    Trbojevic has not appeared in an NRL match since Manly’s round 20 fixture against the Titans, having already missed two months of action earlier in the year due to a separate hamstring injury. Faulalo, who is now cleared to return, has the full confidence of the coaching staff, Foran added. “Clayton is ready to go. He’s fully fit and there’s no hesitation around him re-injuring his hamstring. We’ve got all the confidence in him and we’re excited to have him back.”

    The Sea Eagles currently sit 10th on the NRL ladder, four points adrift of the top eight with just four regular season rounds remaining. To pull off a miraculous late finals qualification, Foran’s side must secure a win over the Dolphins this weekend to keep their slim hopes alive. Foran, who took over head coaching duties from Anthony Seibold earlier this season, is already looking back at that upset 52-point win in his first match in charge for inspiration ahead of Friday’s clash.

    In his first season as a top-flight NRL head coach, Foran acknowledged the campaign has been a major learning experience, marked by dramatic form shifts: the club sat third after 15 rounds, but has since dropped down the ladder following a five-match losing streak. Their most recent defeat came against the Melbourne Storm in Perth, where Manly gave up an early lead to lose by 22 points.

    Despite the poor run, Foran said he has no intentions of making excuses for the team’s performance, and is focused on building consistent culture at the club moving forward. “We want to be a club that can handle those shifts and those obstacles better. We don’t want to use excuses and gloss over certain things. We want to be a club that you know what you’re going to get, and what what’s I’m trying to grow,” he said. “The attitude and the intent of the players is second to none, and when you’ve got that, you’re 95 per cent of the way there. You’ve just got to get the other little parts right.”

  • Matthew McConaughey on his sweet return to the big screen

    Matthew McConaughey on his sweet return to the big screen

    Oscar-winning American actor Matthew McConaughey is making his long-awaited return to major big-screen roles after more than six years away from leading film work, premiering his new indie project *The Rivals of Amziah King* at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Written and directed by critically acclaimed independent filmmaker Andrew Patterson, the genre-blending thriller set against the sweeping landscapes of the American Southwest marks McConaughey’s first leading role since his 2019 appearance in Guy Ritchie’s *The Gentlemen*.

    After wrapping work on *The Gentlemen*, McConaughey stepped back from full-time acting to shift his focus to writing his best-selling memoir *Greenlights*. While audiences caught a brief glimpse of him in 2024’s *The Lost Bus*, that project was filmed after production on *The Rivals of Amziah King* wrapped, making the honey-centered story his official comeback vehicle. For the 56-year-old Texas native, the project’s unique tone and deeply human characters made it an obvious choice to mark his return.

    In an interview with AFP ahead of the SXSW premiere, McConaughey highlighted what drew him to the script: “The joy, the soul, the humor, the music, the poetry, the mythology, original time, place, and space.” The story centers on Amziah King, a charismatic local honey producer who divides his days between tending to his beehives and playing banjo in a folk band made up of neighborhood friends. McConaughey connected deeply with the dynamic of the story’s close-knit community, noting, “I knew these people. I liked the way they loved each other. I liked the way they fought with each other, I liked the way they cared. I liked the way they use music and humor to survive.” At its core, he explained, King is a figure who creates belonging for the people around him — a quiet, meaningful theme he is proud to share with audiences.

    The story takes a sharp turn when King reconnects with Kateri, a young Native American woman he and his late wife took in years earlier. What unfolds blends elements of crime, comedy, musical, and drama, as King helps Kateri integrate into the community and prepares to pass his community leadership role to her. Kateri soon discovers that the lucrative local honey trade hides darker undercurrents that are far from the sweet, peaceful image King presents.

    The role of Kateri is played by 22-year-old newcomer Angelina LookingGlass, who describes the character as a subversive, underestimated force. “A lot of people would underestimate her just by looking at her. You know, they wouldn’t expect the things that she does,” LookingGlass explained. “Her being this really strong Indigenous woman, and this person that goes under the radar, but then like bites at the end.”

    That intentional subversion is exactly what drew Patterson to the story, coming five years after his critically lauded 2019 debut feature *The Vast of Night*. Patterson told AFP the core idea for the project grew from a desire to center a relentless, sharp-witted Indigenous female lead: “She just uses her intellect and resourcefulness. And I was excited to put that kind of character into the world. That was quite literally the germ of an idea that made me want to go, and then eventually the Amziah character came after that.”

    The indie filmmaker never expected to land a star of McConaughey’s caliber for the role, adding fellow Hollywood veteran Kurt Russell to the cast alongside McConaughey. “I was just a guy in Oklahoma writing scripts, making little movies. There was no way that this had any chance to get in front of him,” Patterson recalled. After years of development and growing industry support for his work, Patterson said the pairing felt like fate: “I think in spirit, Matthew and I were on a collision course for each other. There was no way of knowing that it would happen.”

    *The Rivals of Amziah King* is set to wide release in U.S. theaters this Friday, and Patterson said he feels immense gratitude to share the project with audiences — and to bring McConaughey back to cinema after his multi-year break. “I’m humbled that I’m getting to put Matthew back in cinema after six and a half years,” he said.

  • ‘Don’t believe everything you read’: Bulldogs bite back amid suggestions Jacob Preston could leave the club

    ‘Don’t believe everything you read’: Bulldogs bite back amid suggestions Jacob Preston could leave the club

    Contract speculation surrounding rising Canterbury Bulldogs back-rower Jacob Preston has been put to rest, according to head coach Cameron Ciraldo, who has pushed back on recent media reports claiming the club’s current contract offer falls far short of what the young star and his management are seeking.

    Preston, 24, is entering the final 12 months of his existing deal with the Bulldogs, and would be eligible to open formal contract negotiations with rival NRL clubs from November 1 if he does not extend his stay at Belmore. In recent days, both the Sydney Roosters and North Sydney Bears have been flagged as potential suitors for the in-demand forward, but Ciraldo says a private conversation with the player himself has erased any doubt about Preston’s long-term future at the club.

    “I’ve got no worries about Jacob not being here,” Ciraldo told reporters on Thursday, striking a defiant tone. “He was in my office yesterday telling me how much he loves being here, how much he’s committed to the Bulldogs and how much he loves playing with our playing group. So it’s probably a case of don’t believe everything you read in the media, no offence.”

    Since making his NRL debut in 2023, Preston has rapidly emerged as one of the league’s most promising young forwards, and he is currently in contention for a spot in Australia’s Rugby League World Cup squad set to compete at the end of the 2025 season. While Ciraldo praised Preston’s on-field impact and upward trajectory, he added that the 24-year-old’s personal character is what ultimately convinces him the forward will sign a new contract to stay in Canterbury blue and white.

    “He cares so much about his team and the club and the way we play, and he’s just starting his journey,” Ciraldo said. “I know he’s been playing for four years, but he’s still below that 100-game mark, and he’s just understanding what it takes to become a leader of a team and a club. He’s going to get there, and he’s going to get there here, I’m very confident of that.

    “We love having him here, he loves being here. It’ll get sorted, it just doesn’t need to play out through the media. He’s one of those guys in the dressing room that brings a lot of joy and energy and laughter, and that (the media speculation) won’t affect him, he’ll be right.”

    Beyond the contract talk, Ciraldo also shared an update on injured forward Sitili Tupouniua, who suffered a fresh hamstring injury during last week’s loss to the Roosters. The coach stopped short of ruling Tupouniua out for the rest of the 2025 season, leaving the door open for a potential return before the end of the regular season.

    Tupouniua will definitely miss this Friday’s crucial clash against South Sydney Rabbitohs, a match that many have framed as an early finals decider, with the Rabbitohs holding a two-point advantage over the Bulldogs on the NRL ladder with just four rounds remaining in the regular season. Ciraldo, however, rejected the do-or-die framing, saying his side is focused on incremental improvement rather than chasing a specific result.

    “They’re all important games for us, but if we start thinking about winning or results or outcomes, then we’re going to lose our way and miss somewhere in the process. So this week’s been all about how we can be better at our process,” Ciraldo said.

  • Pentagon tells Congress US killed 153 civilians in Yemen air strikes

    Pentagon tells Congress US killed 153 civilians in Yemen air strikes

    A confidential internal assessment from the United States Department of Defense, submitted to congressional lawmakers, has confirmed that U.S. military attacks on Yemen carried out last year left hundreds of civilian bystanders dead and injured, according to disclosures that have recently entered the public sphere.

    In a 12-page report transmitted Monday to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon formally documented that 153 Yemeni civilians were killed and an additional 243 sustained wounds across the campaign of airstrikes launched by former President Donald Trump. Trump authorized the bombing campaign targeting Houthi militant positions in March 2025, a retaliatory measure launched after the group launched a series of attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Red Sea. The Houthis have stated their attacks on Red Sea vessels are an act of solidarity with Palestinian communities under siege in Gaza.

    The report lays out specific details of multiple airstrikes that the Pentagon acknowledges “more likely than not” resulted in unintended civilian harm. One strike carried out on April 6 in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa left five civilians dead and 25 more injured, according to the document. A separate U.S. attack on the coastal city of Hodeidah on April 17 killed no fewer than 80 civilians, a strike that Human Rights Watch concluded in a June analysis should be probed as a potential war crime.

    Niku Jafarnia, a researcher specializing in Yemeni and Bahraini affairs at Human Rights Watch, condemned the strike targeting Ras Issa Port, a vital hub for humanitarian aid entering Yemen that was hit while hundreds of port workers were on site. “The U.S. government’s decision to strike this critical aid entry point, while hundreds of workers were present, demonstrates a callous disregard for civilians’ lives,” Jafarnia said. Another late-April airstrike in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province killed at least 68 African migrants who were staying in the area, the report confirms.

    To date, Pentagon officials confirm that 15 additional strike-related incidents remain under active review to assess whether civilian casualties occurred. Beyond the casualty disclosures, the launch of the Trump administration’s military campaign was initially overshadowed by a major security breach that has become known as SignalGate, when Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a private Signal group chat planning the military operation. The chat included 19 senior U.S. national security officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The accidental inclusion of an outsider journalist provided an unprecedented look into the administration’s internal deliberations around the campaign, which largely focused on grievances that Europe and Egypt were not compensating the U.S. for its military involvement.

    Over the course of the two-month campaign, the U.S. carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes against Houthi positions across Yemen. The campaign was ultimately halted in May 2025, just ahead of a planned visit by Trump to the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Investigative reporting by Middle East Eye has revealed that Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. partner in the region, pushed American officials to end the strikes ahead of Trump’s visit.

    Regional officials who spoke to Middle East Eye noted that while the U.S. bombardment inflicted significant damage to the Houthis’ stockpiled military equipment, the impact of the campaign was short-lived. In the months since the strikes ended, the Houthi movement has resumed its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and even expanded its operational reach to target energy infrastructure sites within Saudi Arabia itself.